The Book Prize Index

Show Me the Bodies: How We Let Grenfell Happen

Peter Apps

The truth about Grenfell at long last. It is hardly possible to admit it. That the biggest tower block fire in UK history was preventable. The government had been warned for years that the building materials were not fire safe. Up until 14 June 2017, ministers' response had always been: ‘Show me the bodies.’ Award-winning journalist Peter Apps weaves poignant survivor testimony with the detailed decision-making that led to that fateful night. In bringing the unfolding tragedy to life, he exposes exactly where things have gone wrong with social housing so that it can never happen again.

Politics & GovernmentPolitics & Government · medium confidencePolitics & Government81 signalsLlm Classifier: Politics & Government -> Politics & GovernmentGoogle Books: Social Science -> Society & CultureKeyword Classifier: Nature & Environment -> Nature & EnvironmentClimate, Weather & DisasterEnvironment, Conservation & PollutionHousing, Cities & Urban Life

Award History

1 wins · 1 total

AwardYearResultCategory / Notes
Orwell Prize: Political Writing2023WinnerSecondary source
View all award history (1)
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies

This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.

  1. 01 Central figures

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

  2. 02 Central places

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

  3. 03 Suggested argument

    The Grenfell tower block fire was preventable because government ministers were warned for years that the building materials were not fire safe and their response failed until 14 June 2017.

    Model confidence 62%

  4. 04 Reading orientation

    32 / 100 academic

    Serious trade

    An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.

Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 74%.